Wins don’t matter whether they come by 0.01 ounces or by 20 pounds. A win is a win.

And Eli Ward and Wyatt Gabehart proved that to be true after winning the 2023 BASS Nation of West Virginia High School State Championship on Stonewall Jackson by just a mere 0.25 ounces over second place with a total weight 10.74 pounds. Claiming their second win in a row on the BASS Nation of West Virginia High School Series. The last one coming back in November.

The Championship win punched a ticket for the High School standouts to compete in Bassmaster High School National Championship that will be held later this year. Something both of them have been working towards since pairing up back last July.

But the win on Stonewall didn’t come as a surprise for the two. It was earned through time spent on the water and experience on the second-largest lake in West Virginia.

“The day before the tournament, Wyatt and I found some fish that wouldn’t bite the day before,” said Ward. “So we started on them the next morning and sure enough Wyatt caught a three-pounder we knew was there and that really boosted the confidence we needed for the rest of the day.”

After catching their first fish of the morning, the duo stuck to their original game plan which they both acknowledged would be a grind, but if it worked it would give them a shot at the win.

“We weren’t on any pattern at all until we started to figure it out late in the day,” said Gabehart. “Once we figured out the pattern late in the day, we started upgrading fast. The biggest key for us was when we culled out very small fish late and it gave us just enough to win.”

And while Gabehart was extremely excited to win his first State Champion, Ward noted that this win was a bigger deal for him than any other time he has won in the past.

“Being able to do it so close to home and in front of all my family and friends was a huge deal,” said Ward. “But most importantly a good friend of ours (Braiden Short) passed away recently, and we said we wanted to win it for him, and so we did. I knew the entire day he was with us the whole way.”

Short was close friends with a large group of student anglers in West Virginia including Ward and Gabehart. He had a passion for bass fishing and the outdoors and even competed in BASS Nation of West Virginia tournaments before his passing. Short passed away in February after a courageous battle with cancer.

Ethan Allen and Dillon May finished second with 10.49 pounds and won big fish of the tournament with a 6.59-pound lunker.

Lucas Queen and Justin Perry rounded out third place with 8.19 pounds.